Welcome to the EPA 2022 Interactive Programme
The congress will officially run on Central European Summer Time (CEST/GMT +2)
To convert the congress times to your local time Click Here
Fully Live with Live Q&A 
On Demand (available from 4 June) 
ECP Session 
Section Session 
EPA Course (Pre-Registration Required)
Ask the Expert 
Sessions with Voting 
Live TV 
Product Theatre
Suicide in the COVID-19 Pandemic
Abstract
Abstract Body
A literature search using PubMed and Google Scholar identified 64 articles assessing suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts and suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic in comparison with the pre-pandemic period in the six WHO regions of the world. Most studies come from high- and middle-income countries. There is a scarcity of data from South America, and no studies from the African and East-Mediterranean Regions. Compared to trends in previous years, suicide rates remained largely unchanged globally or declined in the early phase of the pandemic. However, increased suicide rates were reported among non-white residents and Afro - American groups in the US, as well as among adolescents in China. Japan and India showed a statistically significant increase in suicide rates after an initial decline. Similarly in Peru, after an initial decline, suicide rates increased among men during the course of the pandemic. This is in line with previous findings in the context of natural disasters and other epidemics where a similar increased suicide trend can be expected in the post-pandemic period in other countries. Among adolescents, there were no significant changes in suicide rates during the period of school closure, but an increase has been observed in the period after coming back to schools. The assessment of suicidal thoughts and attempts during the pandemic was mostly conducted through online cross-sectional surveys and showed significant increases, particularly in females and the young. Suicide can be prevented if evidence-based methods that exist are implemented in a systematic way (Wasserman et al. 2020; https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20801).
Affective Temperaments and Suicidality in Patients with Bipolar Disorder
Abstract
Abstract Body
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in patients with Bipolar Disorder (BD). Several risk factors linked to suicide attempts in patients with BD have been identified, including a long duration of illness, untreated BD, female sex, positive history for suicide attempts, comorbidity with substance abuse or personality disorders, anxiety, depressive polarity and recent psychiatric inpatient care. Recently affective temperaments have been considered as possible factors for suicide in BD. While hyperthymic temperament is associated with a reduced risk of suicide attempts, cyclothymic, irritable, depressive and anxious temperaments are more represented in patients with a positive history of suicide attempts. Moreover, cyclothymic and irritable temperaments are highly connected with both aggression and impulsivity, which play a role in suicidal behaviours. Despite this evidence, the predictive role of affective temperaments on suicide behaviours is still poorly studied. In this contribution, we will report results of a study aiming at assessing the relationship between affective temperaments and personal history of violent suicide attempts, in 74 patients with BD. Violent suicide attempts were positively associated with cyclothymic temperament and inversely to hyperthymic one. BD-I patients and patients with a clinical history of rapid cycling were significantly more represented in the group of patients with a history of violent suicide attempts. Our results suggest the role of affective temperaments in the suicidality of patients with BD.